It was an absolutely amazing hike! It was such a beautiful view of the green lush hills of San Jose even before I reached the trail. The hike itself wasn't as strenous as Mission Peak since the incline was much less steep but had multiple switchbacks, bridges and a few bumbling brooks that kept the hike up interesting. The views didn't change much during the hike and there was plenty of shaded area (even though it was chilly this morning) which would make it perfect for the summer months. The pathway directly to the radar tower was closed due to asbestos/lead contamination since the tower is in the process of being insulated but the trail to the parking lot also leads directly to the summit as well. THIS is where the fun truly began! As I'm walking across the parking lot looking at the staircase that leads to the summit, I see a gentleman with two fishing rods and a line attaching them together creating gigantic bubbles on the helipad landing next to the parking lot with a slew of people watching him. Of course I had to join and see what the commotion was about. This guy was slinging bubbles around left and right, big ones, small ones, bubbles inside of other bubbles, I was so impressed I spent a good 30 minutes just watching and asking questions. And YES, he has a business card that has his job title as Bubble Wrangler. He explained that he pretty much is the cream of the crop, the pro in the bubble field. He goes to conferences in Wales to present, is the head of bubble forums and even had a member on the committee for the Nobel Peace Prize admiring and showing off his homemade bubble wands. He was the real deal! He said that he loves coming up to Mt Umunhum because the wind patterns are just perfect with the wind creating small vortexs and have some turbulence in areas that you can't see with the naked eye but bubbles will clearly show you.
After spending some time with the bubble wrangler, I climbed the rest of the way to the summit and spoke with a retired gentleman about the radar tower and what was happening in there, about the weather in San Jose and general pleasantries. The hike back was just as beautiful but I couldn't stop thinking about how cool that Bubble Wrangler was. I asked him how he started doing it and he said, “Just that…I just started.”

Oh, and I love my little kitties fishing for fish long socks, makes hikes much more fun that way!